Soccer rose in popularity at the same time Communism became fashionable across Europe and South America. And just as Communism denies man's humanity so does soccer where players can not even use their hands! That which separates us from the beasts.

I am glad to see that outside of making fun of soccer Mrs. Althouse has not been sucked in like so many others in this country. The main stream media has spent the last month trying to ram it down our throats. I hope my fellow traditionalist conservatives out there did not support it by watching and they do not let their children play this godless sport. I did not let mine!

Tighty...Quit wasting our time with drivel. Soccer has many good points. Soccer is great fun to play because of men's inherent need to express controlled aggressio; and Soccer also lets 5 ft 6 in 135 lb men aggresively compete on strength and balance instead of height and weight alone.

TradGuy, great soccer is the great equalizer. Small men can play with bigger men and the girls can play with the boys. Like I said soccer is closely associated with communism. Why do we always ''need to be more like Europe and the International Community?'' Soccer sucks and you know it. Don't the main stream media fool you.

Soccer may be a metaphor for communism among egg heads but as it is run as a business it is far more capitalist than such operations as the NFL with it's draft, salary cap and wealth redistribution. If a billionare wants to buy a team and win the league without pesky regulations getting in the way, soccer is the play.

The offside rule is pretty staight forward - if you're on offense you have to have either two defenders or one defender and the ball between you and the goal line (and agree it seems simpler than the infield rule :).

The octopus did pretty good. Obviously it was just random 5-50 chance unless a little "cheating" was done to associate German flag colors with food before each official pick or vid was done to cover several food picks. And a human oddsmaker ultimately selected and the World Cup pick, not "Paul".

If it was pure 50-50 mollusk choice, then with six choices, the odds against "Paul" being perfect through the World Cup were 1 in 64.

The problem with the offside rule has nothing to do with the rule as written. It is quite simple as pointed out above. The problem with the offside rule is that it requires a linesman to see two things at once. This leads to much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I lived in Spain for about a year, and I'm happy for the Spaniards. THey don't even know how to throw, most of them. But they've got good football skills.

Sadly, here in Seattle, they're planning on selling the Mariners and Seahawks to OK city as well. Then, we'll have a nearly empty monorail (doubling as a homeless shelter) that shuttles lesbians and hippies between the three women's basketball teams they're planning on.

k*thy wrote: if you're on offense you have to have either two defenders or one defender and the ball between you and the goal line

The latter half of that is incorrect. If the ball is between you and your opponents' goal line, the position of defenders does not matter.

To be fair, it is a confusing rule, especially if you are not familiar with the game. Simply being in an offside position does not result in an offense. One needs to be in an offside position when the ball is sent forward by a teammate, and one also must be somehow involved in the play.

Even though my heritage is Dutch, I was pleased with the outcome. The better team won. The Dutch had only size and a propensity to foul as advantages. In the end the fouls did them in, I'm pleased to say/

"You're not allowed to intentionally drop a pop fly for an easy double or triple play. Therefore, when there's a pop-up with less than two outs, with men on first and second, the umpire will yell 'infield fly', which will count the ball as caught, no matter what happens."

Easy. Explain purpose first, then mechanics.

Mind you, the offside rule is just as easily explained. Other name for it should be "the anti- goal suck rule".

I saw the goal coming.. I started chanting while it was in the offing.. something told me it was in the offing. I started jumping up and down and the rest did not get on until the goal had been scored..

I didn't care that I had been right.. I just cared that we had been waiting long enough and it was finally going to be decided by a field goal.

I won my bet.. I bet the final score would be one to nothing.. regardless of the winner.

If you ever come across a mofongo and you don't know what it is just say pass.. its not meant for you..

Mofongo is tasty, is savory.. they use pork.. chicharron.. garlic.. they mash the plantain and the meat together until you can not tell them apart.. until the smell is so overwhelming you think you already had it earlier in the day .. or something.

Gladys is her sister my aunt where I stayed with my cousin Elias and niece Maty.. I remember them from when I had to say with them because my father could not bring us to the States right away.. I was with them for a couple of years in the 70s.. we shared those memories.

Elias is in the goverment run Lottery bussissnes.. he appears to be doing very well.. in the course of conversasion I might have told hime that I might wanted to invest.. I come home and ask my "know it all" sister about it.. she tells me lottery "bancas" are run w/o any accounting.. its kind of like the wild west.

"the open internet is better for exchanging ideas than for making friends."

I don't know. Maybe. But I think I'm with Lem here. I think if an open, honest vulnerability exists there's a massive potential for making friends. Especially for people with personalities, or interests, or whatever, who are out of the mainstream.

I've made some of my strongest friends online. Indeed, I met my wife online--not because we were looking for a date, or any kind of relationship. We just were on the same web forum, noticed a similar background, started talking, and being open and honest. Course, it took real life--phone calls and meetups to make it more than a friendship, but still.

Indeed, there's a lot of not only friendships but very spiritual communities sharing more than a whole lot, maybe most, churches I know.

Exchanging ideas--with a true open spirit of exchange rather than attempted domination--is a tremendous way of making friends, and friends across otherwise seemingly impassable barriers.

I don't give my personal information on the profile page, but that doesn't mean I am not honest. Why do I have to give away everything? You might be trustworthy, and others too, but you never know who else is lurking, and then of course (for those lucky enough to have jobs) there is the matter of employers.

Besides, so I don't give my information. But I usually respond to questions when people ask me, unlike Lem who I think I've commented to directly a couple of times, but who just continues with his long musings, which are interesting. So he wants honesty in the profiles, but doesn't seem to care much about direct communication. And anyway, his own profile is not that illuminating.